North Korea Rejects FATF's Renewed High-Risk Label

The foreign ministry spokesperson called the watchdog's move an attempt to encroach on the dignity, rights and interests of a sovereign state. "The FATF has turned into a conspiracy group and an extremely politicized organization serving the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK," the spokesperson said in the statement. The ministry also denied any North Korean involvement in money laundering, terrorist financing, drug trafficking or counterfeiting.

The FATF said on its website that it remains concerned by North Korea's continued failure to address significant deficiencies in its defenses against money laundering and terrorist financing and by the serious threats posed by illicit activities linked to weapons of mass destruction, according to the Yonhap report. The task force, which operates under the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, has placed North Korea in the high-risk category alongside Iran and Myanmar, and has done so since 2011.